How I lost £400 to The Art Farm

If you see an ad on Ebay or Gumtree for an antique French bath, it is likely to have been placed there by a man called Johnny Grant who runs The Art Farm. He presents it as a collective for creative types but it seems to have just one member - Mr Grant.

Earlier this year I contacted him hoping to buy a bath which he would import for me from France, where The Art Farm is based.
He wanted £400 for an unrestored antique French bath. Not cheap, but competitive when spruced up ones go for £800 or more.
He told me I would need to pay upfront, as he had delivered baths to people in the past who had tried to knock down the price once the goods were delivered.
I asked what money back guarantee I had if he couldn't source a bath, and his answer was vague, but he promised me a receipt.

The money was handed over on 19th August 2009.
Here is a copy of his receipt.
He said previous customers had waited up to three months for a bath and mine could take as long. As our building work was running until Christmas, I said that wouldn't be a problem.

September came and went with no bath, and in October, after a few prompts, I received a message saying he was busy but on the case.
I replied that there was no rush, but end of November would be ideal for delivery. As the date approached, there was no word from Mr Grant. A couple of weeks before the end of November, I sent a reminder. Radio silence.

On 23 November, I wrote saying I would need the bath by the end of the month, or my money back by 3 December.
I received his answer on 24 November.
The basic gist was: The Art Farm don't do refunds. Stocks of French baths running low. Pas de delivery until the new year.

So I wrote back, threatening him with a lot of bad publicity on the internet if he did not return the money. His response arrived straight from crazyland. Basically he is a struggling artist and we all owe him a living.

I have sympathy for struggling artists. But none for dishonest cowboy traders.

Unfortunately, although I first contacted Mr Grant through his Ebay ad, I paid him directly for the bath, so no protection throught Paypal.

As he is based in France, it may not be possible to pursue him through the courts, although he also seems to have a pied-a-terre in Swindon, where he's been happy to PR his business in the local paper.

So I did what I should have done before handing over any cash, and checked out his profile on Ebay. There was a bit of feedback, but only two that looked genuine. I contacted both customers.

One had received his bath, the other, a woman like me who had paid hundreds of pounds upfront at the beginning of the year, had not. Another bathless victim of Mr Grant's has since contacted her, with the same story. Between us, we have handed over more than £1000.


The Art Farm website also advertises eco building courses. Same thing there - money up front, but no refunds if the course is 'cancelled'.

I have since been contacted by someone who handed over £500 in September for a Natural Building course which never happened.

There ARE people who have actually been on courses at The Art Farm. And what an experience that is. Here is one woman's survival story.

So sometimes Mr Grant delivers, and sometimes he doesn't. Would you hand over £500 on a fifty per cent likely hood of getting something in return? Not really good enough is it?

More next from some of the other people duped by The Art Farm...